In the Ditch

Susan at the helm

Sam on folding bike

Friday, March 25th

We pulled up anchor at 8:30 and headed East into the Ditch (the Intercoastal Waterway).   The good news is, both our knot and depth meters started working!  They were intermittent in the beginning, but were nice and steady by the end of the day.  There must have been some creature stuck on them, and our fast speed gradually tore it off.

Once again we had good speed all day – there must have a beefy current going our way in the ditch.   The wind was on the nose all day until we approached the bridge in St Andrews Bay; then we were finally able to sail.  We did well all the way to the Panama City St Andrews Bay Yacht Club, but had lots of trouble docking there because the winds were so terrible.  With the help of two guys on the dock, however, we finally got tied off.  Boy, did we need a drink!

Lesson learned:  When you've been rocking back and forth on the water for two days, don't have a large gin and tonic before taking a shower.  I also TKOed myself in the shower stall!

That evening we had a fine dinner at the club, and then a good deep sleep during the night.  We were sure beat after the night before!

Saturday, March 26th

We spent the day lounging around the boat and exploring the town on our folding bikes.  Boy, are they ever nifty!  They fold up to about a third their normal size, both vertically and horizontally.  They have seven speeds, suspension, and a bike rack.  AND, they are bright red!  We toddled all over the place.  The old part of town along the bay has beautiful, stately mansions and hundreds of azaleas all over the place.  It was gorgeous.

In the evening our friends, the Tyes (in Sanctuary) came sailing in.  They weren’t able to leave Ft. Walton on Thursday, so they left Saturday and made it all the way to Panama City.  We caught up on all our sailing experiences, then decided to hit the hay.